Sunday

The weather forecast wasn’t so good today.  In fact, heavy showers, thunderstorms and suchlike were expected this afternoon and so our plans for the day were flexible.  The youngsters decided to go off to Stein am Rhein and we decided to head for St Gallen, initially at least.

So, as usual, we took the tram to the station and caught the 9-0 something or other train to St Gallen.

Unsurprisingly, the city was quiet because after all, it was a Sunday morning.  But we strolled around the lovely old town, taking photographs of the oriel windows which characterise St Gallen.

There are some lovely ones to admire and though I’ve undoubtedly got photographs of the very same windows from previous trips, I can’t help but take more.

This one has a delightful character holding it up.

He’s been there supporting that window for quite some time, too, by the looks of it.

Our destination is actually the magnificent Kloster Bibliothek, a fairly small but utterly breathtaking collection of ancient texts and artifacts, housed in a staggeringly beautiful library.  No photographs allowed, sadly, but google Stiftsbibliothek St Gallen for images and you’ll see what I mean.

In the meantime, we’d had a text from Edward, who informed us that he and Amy were currently sheltering from torrential rain, that the weather had turned pretty violent and that Stein am Rhein was in the thick of it.  About the same time, we felt a drop or two of rain ourselves and thought that, perhaps it might be a good idea to make our way to the station and put plan b into action.

With a few last shots of St Gallen, we hurried to the station and got on a train to Appenzell.  This is a fun little train which goes steeply uphill thanks to the rack and pinion mechanism.  Not only that, but travelling a little slower than the mainline trains, it also runs alongside the road, giving the impression of being right in the fields.

Not that these are fields as we know them, however.  These fields have grass that looks like a fitted carpet.

Without fences or walls to break it up, it’s cut neatly to fit right up to the road.  Gorgeous, isn’t it?

The people around here are natty dressers as well, don’t you think?  This couple stepped off the train and went on their way, arm in arm with a real spring in their step.

The residents are pretty content to be here too and look comfortable on their green, grassy slope.

Upon arrival in Appenzell, our first stop is the cheese shop.  You might recall, we’re rather fond of Appenzell – both the place and the cheese – and so the necessary purchase made, we moved on through the town, admiring the beautifully painted buildings as we went.

Next stop was the museum, which had been closed when we were here last Autumn.

Here was a lovely collection of the local art and crafts, exhibits of traditions and a charming video about life in the town. Even better, our Swiss Passes entitled us to free entry – what’s not to like about that?!

We could have lingered longer, spent more time admiring the great way in which this house has been opened up inside to accommodate so many interesting items.

But sadly, we had a train to catch.

Fortunately the rain had held off and the clouds had cleared a little – enough to spot Säntis there from the station platform.  Our train arrived on time and we were headed back in no time.

We returned by a different but equally lovely route, via Herisau.  The train was full of families and groups of friends returning from a day in the mountains and the soundtrack was happy chatter the whole way.

Along the way, I spotted “my” house.  It’d do me nicely, I think!

In just over an hour we were back in Zurich, just in time for a quick freshen up before dinner.  Amy and Edward had plenty of tales to share and we enjoyed a great supper at the Zeughaus.  Simple but yummy!

Afterwards, we went our separate ways again. They planned to explore the city a little, find a bar or two and linger a little, whereas we were ready for home and headed towards the tram stop.  That was that for today.  

Or so we thought!

As we stood looking over the river, a ferry boat headed towards us and we noticed a small pier beneath us.  There on the sign was “Enge” – the area of the city where we are living right now.  So, Swiss Passes to the fore once again, we hopped on board and came home by boat!

On such a glorious evening, it was a delight to see things from yet another angle.

And the route, which took us out onto the lake and a little further than we thought, went past the beaches of the lakeside, still busy at almost 9pm on this Sunday evening.

Finally, it turned and stopped at the pier just below our apartment.  A short walk back and we were home.

Another great day!   We love it here.

Guess where?

Anyone who knows us and who also knows Bern would know where we were headed for when we arrived in Bern.  We planned to take the number 12 bus, over the bridge to the Bear Pit, of course!

Since our last visit here, the old Barengraben has been improved somewhat and the bears of Bern now have a most magnificent park in which to play.  The whole of that riverbank is terraced and secured which means the three bears can explore the large area to their hearts content whilst we get to see them from all directions!  They even have a section of the river to swim in, there at the bottom of the slope.

We arrived to find all three of them out and about on the grassy slope and were happy to stand and watch, taking photographs by the dozen.  Zoom lenses were in action all over and these bears were happily wandering about the place, uninterested in the attention they were receiving.

To begin with, we stood on the top terrace, with the old bear pit behind us, and admired the smallest bear playing around.  So sweet!

And though, of course, we were using our camera zooms, actually, these bears were pretty close to us, possibly as close as we’ve been to bears anywhere, in fact.

We loved it.

Just when we thought we’d move along, maybe go and find somewhere for our picnic, they would have a run around, lark with one another or something, but we convinced ourselves that they’d still be there when we’d had our lunch…

 

We found a picnic spot amongst the trees, a little upriver and sat for a while enjoying the fruits of the farmers market earlier.

The Solothurn cake was delicious and of course, I wondered why on earth I’d bought such a small one!!

And then it was back to the bears.  This time, we walked along the lower, riverside level and found the youngster paying a great deal of attention to a group of people with a bright yellow inflatable.  All the time we were watching bears, people were floating down the river on airbeds, in small inflatable boats and so on, and this bunch of folks had just got out a little lower down to take a look at the bears.  Clearly, the bright yellow had caught this one’s eye and he was showing quite a bit of interest.

But they were the other side of his swimming pool and he was too scared to go in!  So, he stood on the side of the water, splashed a paw in it from time to time and then stood up to growl a while, maybe feeling threatened by this strange yellow being?

The commotion he made drew the attention to one of his parents, who ran down the slope and dived straight into the pool with an enormous splash!  (A cheer went up at this point!)

We were treated to a great display of bear swimming skills and a bit more chasing around until the people with the yellow li-lo moved on and peace was regained.

What a great place to visit.  How well the bearpit has been extended to create not only a fine home for the bears but also a really interesting and satisfying visitor experience too.

As we left, my hero spotted the “bear” on the telegraph wires just outside the bear park, too!  How could we miss such a fun sign by the entrance?

We strolled back up the main street in the afternoon heat, doing our best to keep going and taking every opportunity to enjoy the cold water in the fountains.

We admired the work of a group of artists, thinking we might have a go at the same scene ourselves, but working from a photo, later.

Then we stood for a while trying to work out the astronomical clock but really, were ready for home.

It was a full train home but we all found seats and even managed a nap.  Arriving in Zurich with what seemed like a holiday crowd, we decided to go out there and then for a bite to eat.

Having done so, we caught the tram home again.  The 6 and the 7 go to the Enge station, so we never have long to wait.

How handy that it arrives in front of that helpful reminder for our shopping list!

And, after another enjoyably busy day, we return to the flat and a table full of leaflets, guidebooks, cold drinks and yes, chocolate, to decide what we’ll do tomorrow.

We have so many options!

Saturday morning. Where next?

We had a wonderful supper last night with Hildi, a Swiss friend, at the Kronenhalle.  Formerly a favourite place for artists and writers to meet, they frequently paid their bill in kind – with their art rather than money.  So, we had the huge privilege of sitting beneath an original Chagall masterpiece

(on a postcard rather than on the wall, since the chic restaurant wasn’t really the place to start snapping photographs here and there).

On the wall opposite was a lovely Miro and around the room were other great works, but of course, we were chatting twenty to the dozen auf Deutsch and in English at the same time and I’m afraid the art did get a little overlooked.

So, it was a slower start this morning, on the tram first to the station and then onto the 0930 to Solothurn.  Not at all busy, it was a good start to what turned out to be another excellent day.

We arrived to find the usual postbus waiting for the connection, but we were planning to look around this lovely small city for a while.  My hero and I had known it for some years, since one of our friends grew up here and had showed us around on a previous visit.  Actually, Edward was there too, but of course, remembered little of it, so we started at the station and made our way down to the town centre.

The first thing one notices on stepping out from a Swiss station is the wealth of information and opportunities there.  For those feeling more energetic than we, there were cycle paths, roller blading routes and a suggestion for the mountain bikers too.

Our first stop was the cafe at the foot of the steps leading to the magnificent cathedral.  And just in case you think we are turning into the kind of people who drink beer morning, noon and night, here’s the proof that we do, actually, enjoy other beverages

Apfelschorle is a mix of apple juice and spring water and on a morning such as this, hits the spot perfectly.  Refreshed and reinvigorated, we dashed up those steps (not) and went inside.

The cool, white interior was so elegant and the peaceful ambience inside was ideal for slowing us down, to bring us into the here and now and to inspire our exploration of Solothurn.

Because outside, the farmers market was doing a brisk trade, the sunshine had come out and the temperature was rising.

And Solothurn is a great city with many small but lovely details.  It’s not somewhere to run round, but rather a place to wander, to savour and to notice.  We very much liked the painted fountains, for example and on a very hot and sticky morning, how refreshing to dangle hands in the cool water and to take a drink from the water spout.

Just around the corner, another curious building, with malachite green onion domes either side which contrast so well with the deep blue sky.

Looking more closely, the downpipes from the gutter are surprisingly elaborate too.

We also noticed one or two details on the front doors along the street.  Such a lovely tradition to adorn a door with a small wreath of flowers, berries or whatever, isn’t it?

Around the corner is another fountain, which means another photograph and another dangle of the hands.  Bliss on such a warm day.

This fountain is actually in the market place and whilst there, we thought on and bought a few bits for a picnic lunch later: A piece of bergkase, some apples, an air-dried sausage or two and some bread rolls.  What more could we ask for?

Well, we passed by the Konditorei selling the Solothurn speciality and felt that we really did need one of those to finish our picnic.  I bought a small one “to try” but later, regretted the choice and wish I’d gone larger…

Taking one last look at the sunflowers we’ve been admiring as they were carried from the market, we returned to the station to catch the train to Bern, our destination for this afternoon.  The train was already on the station as we strolled (!) up to it and left almost immediately.

Find out what happened in Bern in the next post!

On the lake

We are lucky (well, we planned it so) that we can catch a tram from very close to our apartment right to the Hauptbahnhof and we did exactly that this morning.  It as already quite warm and wasn’t even 9am yet, but we had plans to catch the train to Luzern.

Even though there’s a regular service to Luzern, we wanted time to look around and yet still have time to catch a steamer down the lake.  With a dinner arrangement this evening, we didn’t want to waste any time and so there we were on the 0904 from Gleis (platform) 3.

At shortly after ten, there we were, right in the centre of the city, enjoying the view of the old wooden bridge and negotiating a path through the tour groups to get our photograph too.

The Kapellbrucke burned in 1993 – not completely but enough to do significant damage.  Nevertheless, it’s well restored and the paintings in the ceiling are as lovely as ever.  Fortunately, the crowds this morning were not so great that we couldn’t stop and take a good look at them, so that’s exactly what we did.

And when the weather is so glorious, it’s really hard not to take yet another photograph, and another…

After a stroll around the old town and a stop for elevenses (well, ok then, a beer!) we headed to the lake and waited for the 1204 departure to Fluelen, the town at the far end of Vierwaldstättersee.  What a magnificent view of the snow-mountains!

I couldn’t resist the obligatory flag shot as we steamed across the lake.  Well, could you?

As we passed small villages and farms high on the alp, normal life was going on around us and farmers were also making the most of the glorious weather by getting the hay in.  At times, we marvelled at their ability to gather hay on the most precipitous of slopes, but of course, the hay was gathered regardless.

How about this patch of lush grass?  Looks perfectly reasonable to farm, doesn’t it?  Until you see where it is

Look at the top right hand corner.

(and yes, I am showing off the zoom on my super camera!)

Though the water was calm and still, in that peaceful setting small dramas were taking place here and there.

The sailing class was encountering the occasional calamity, whistles were blown and encouragement shouted to the youngster, who eventually managed to get her dinghy on an even keep again, thank goodness.

Whilst through it all, the stately progress of the Stadt Luzern paddle steamer was uninterrupted and we all snip-snapped even more photographs as she passed by.

We were all enchanted by the magical colours all around us, the peace and tranquillity of the small villages under that clear blue sky.  But oh, how we would all love to dive into that cool water right now!

Going with the flow

We decided that, rather than simply zoom down the motorway to Zürich, we’d take in an interesting town or two along the way.  But, deciding on a route was proving to be a challenge, so we decided to simply go for it.  See what happens.  Go with the flow.

Anyone who knows us will know that’s pretty unusual.  We must be in holiday mode!

The first unscheduled stop came as a result of spotting the word “Limes”.  Being the non-historian that I am, it meant nothing to me, but to those in the know, it was a “must see”.

So, I had no idea that there had been a “Hadrians Wall” kind of structure built by the Romans across Europe called the Limes.  Here, in Aalen, southern Germany, there was a huge cavalry fort connected to the Limes and this was the site for a large museum.

This “wall” wasn’t really anything like Hadrians Wall and was more of a wooden stockade with watchtowers along the length of it. 

Models helped those like me to envisage the structure and though there was a great deal of historical detail, for me, it was the smaller things which attracted my attention.

Like the beautifully preserved builders stamp on the brick made by someone from the 8th legion.

Or the manner in which the stonemason squeezed a longer word into his work than he’d allowed space for.  Don’t you think it’s good to know that such things happened to the best of craftsmen?!

And what is it about shoes which make them so poignant?   Perhaps it’s that they are such personal items and their relative size tells quite a story about the people who wore them?

Anyway, pleased to have seen this place, it was time to move on.  Who knows what might be found just a few miles down the road?

Aha!  This looks interesting…

The Steiff Museum is here, just off the motorway and we can’t pass by without taking a look, can we?

The story begins in Margarete Steiff’s workroom and is a little creepy.  Several of those things begin to move and fly about, even though there was no-one there.

But really, the place was very clever, for no sooner had the history been told, than the doors opened and we found ourselves in a soft toy workshop of today, and our guide for the presentation was the elegant chap in the picture above.

Then, when he’d said all he had to say, the whole room rose up to the top of the building – we’d been standing on a lift platform and this was a clever way of maintaining visitor flow through the exhibition.

Actually, the rest of the top floor was geared towards children, naturally, with huge animals for them to climb upon and snuggle against.

We found the floor below a little more interesting, since it showed the Steiff collections from the early days until now.  There were quite a few cuties on show!

Finally, into the workshop, to see different stages of the process.  This woman was stuffing heads, taking far longer than one might think to ensure every little corner was full.

I liked the wall hangings – actually pattern pieces of all kinds hanging there all around the workshop.

There were some samples to handle, too.  The overall theme throughout was “quality” and there’s no doubt that anything leaving the Steiff factory is going to be first class.

The exit was, of course, through the gift shop.  We passed this little chap right by, though he might have been a smaller, younger cousin of Anton, back home!

So, onto our next stop, accompanied by George.  Whether his full name is George Alexander Louis or not remains to be seen, but for now, he’s George.  Plain George.  And very sweet he is too!

We decided that there were to be no further stops, that we needed to make straight for Zürich now, because Edward and Amy had texted to say they were on their way.

Lake Constance was looking beautiful in the afternoon sunshine, but we pressed on, over the border and arrived at our apartment in Zürich around 3.30pm.  Edward and Amy arrived shortly afterwards, around 4.30.

And now we are five!